Practicum Cybertronium
by Foxbear
Summary: When faced with a completely alien species even the most experienced professional can suddenly feel like a rank amateur. Rough roads, impulsive youths, poor bedside manner, all serve to give both June Darby and Ratchet a chance to learn more than they ever dreamed and bond in ways they would never had imagined. Series of oneshots, periodically updated as the plot bunnies strike.
1. Rough Roads

Practicum Cybertronium

A Transformers Prime Fanfic

"Bumblebee wants me to do what?" June Darby stood over the stove cradling an old cordless phone between her shoulder and ear. She held the handle of a cast-iron frying pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. A look of surprise was playing over her face.

"Well, I'd be honored I'm sure, but wouldn't he prefer you to do it? Of course I'll be right there." June set the phone down and turned off the stove. She quickly went to her room and changed out of the shorts and white tee into her teal scrubs. She snatched up her stethoscope, then hesitated, she finally smiled and shook her head but draped it around her neck anyway. She went out into the garage and stood in front of the man door. Soon a glowing emerald portal filled the back wall. June strode into the swirling green mist and disappeared.

"Nurse Darby," A gruff but cheerful voice called out from across the Autobot base, "Over here if you please."

The human nurse walked quickly across the wide cavern toward Ratchet's lab. The base was quiet today. All three of the children were in school. June could only suppose that Optimus Prime, Arcee, and Bulkhead were out on scouting missions or something of the sort. She rounded the corner into Ratchet's lab and smiled at the scene.

A yellow and black robot sat on an exam table. One hand clutched at his side where she could see small amounts of glowing blue liquid seeping out between his servos. On its expressive face was a look she knew well; the look of a male in pain but carrying far too much pride to admit it. The human nurse had learned enough about Cybertronian physiology in the past few weeks from her conversations with Ratchet to know that the wound was superficial. The red and white medibot was standing causally to one side of the table.

"Well June here he is," Ratchet gestured at the scout.

June walked up to the young bot and gave him her warmest smile. Bumblebee's face beamed back at her. How he did it without a mouth was a mystery to the woman, but that look could warm up any room.

"So I hear you were injured?" June said sympathetically.

The yellow scout whistled dejectedly in affirmation and pulled his hand away from his side. June leaned forward and examined the injury. She was immediately struck by a feeling of massive ignorance and burning curiosity. The healer in her was fascinated by the challenge before her. Here was an alien life form, injured and requesting her help. Yet, she hadn't felt so absolutely helpless and ignorant since her first days as a nursing student. The complex weave of wires, plates and circuits that made up the Cybertronian's 'waist' baffled her. She smiled weakly up at Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee, I'm truly honored you wanted me to treat you, but I know almost nothing about your kind. Wouldn't you rather have Ratchet do this?" She asked.

The bot shook his head firmly and rested a hand gently on her shoulder. He let out a string of whistles and beeps.

"He wants you to perform the procedure Nurse Darby." Ratchet translated. "You expressed an interest in learning Cybertronian healing, and the best way to learn is to do. Now chop-chop, he's leaking Energon as we speak." The medibot beamed down at her expectantly. June nodded and turned her attention back to the patient. Ratchet would never risk the health of one of his charges by turning them over to someone incompetent. Therefore this injury had to fall within the scope of what she had already learned from the older bot.

She carefully examined the wound. Most of the damage was confined to two or three plates and a few wires surrounding them. The 'wires' June remembered, were actually bundles of thousands of nerve like fibers running up and down the Autobot's body. The crimping they displayed must be what was causing the Cybertronain the most pain. From the schematics Ratchet had shown her before June realized that the damaged plates were most likely the ones that would have been exposed on the Camero's undercarriage when he was in his alt mode.

"This looks like and impact wound from a solid object. Ratchet would you pull up Bumblebee base schematics please?" June asked without looking up. "So how did this happen Bumblebee? Decpticons?" June walked over to a sink Ratchet had installed and began washing up. Probably completely unnecessary she knew, but old habits die hard. The scout let out an embarrassed chirp and shook his head.

"Hardly," snorted Ratchet, while pulling up the schematics June had requested, "he was traveling over some dirt 'road', and I use the term loosely, on the continent just south of here and came around a corner too fast. There was a boulder that had fallen off of a cliff and he went over it at full speed."

Bumblebee whistled in confirmation. June walked over and carefully examined the diagrams Ratchet had summoned. There were no major 'organs' near the injury, but the joint of the three damaged plates was a fairly critical one in the transformation process. June frowned thoughtfully.

"Bumblebee, did you have any trouble transforming after the accident?" She asked.

The yellow bot nodded and chirped out an answer. June didn't see the look of pride and pleasure that settled across Ratchets faceplates at her question.

"He says, it hurt like crazy but didn't start seeping energon until he transformed back at the base." The older bot translated for her.

"Well, it looks like you have relatively minor damage to the three mesh plates at you tertiary abdominal transformation joint, as well a few crimps in the surrounding neural sensory bundles. Fortunately, from the scans, there appears to be no internal damage. You probably ruptured the plates when you transformed. Further transformations might do serious damage." the nurse spoke directly to the scout. "I suggest we numb the area, sterilize the surface with a localized energon bath, straighten out the crimps with a sonic wrench, and apply artimesh to the damaged plates. Also I suggest you stay in your current mode until the plates heal." June finished and looked up at Ratchet expectantly. She hadn't felt this nervous since college. The old bot only arched one red brow and asked,

"Well, aren't you going to proceed with the treatment nurse?"

June took a deep breath and nodded. If he hadn't posed any objections she must have gotten it right. She smiled up at Bumblebee and gestured at the floor.

"It would make this a bit easier for me if you could sit on the ground." The bot nodded and eased down into a cross-legged position next to the nurse.

"Cybernetic neural deactivator please," June requested crisply. Ratchet handed over the device. The tube was awkward for the human to use but manageable, something like wielding a sledge hammer. Selecting the nerve bundle which connected the damaged area to the brain, the nurse gently pressed the end of the probe to the bot's mesh. The device chimed. Bumblebee visibly relaxed. Mrs. Darby cautiously probed the damaged area with a handy wrench and asked,

"Can you feel that?"

The scout shook his head.

"Energon bath please," June requested. She turned to receive the device, basically a large syringe for the precious liquid, from Ratchet. But the bot only shook his head with a frown.

"Ah ah, Nurse Darby. You're forgetting something." Ratchet scolded. June looked at the bot in confusion, then glanced at Bumblebee. The scout made a small gesture toward his blue optics. June smiled.

"Oh yes, energon is harmful to humans. I need my personal protective equipment." Ratchet nodded and handed her goggles, elbow length rubber gloves, and a long white lab coat. June put them on and accepted the giant syringe. She let the blue liquid wash over the damaged areas, starting at the top and letting it run down the injury. Mindful of the need to conserve the precious liquid she worked slowly and carefully.

"Neural bundle manipulator please," June requested after she had finished. Ratchet handed over the device. The nurse carefully pressed one end of the manipulator to the exposed wire and a cluster of filaments reached out to wrap around the nerve bundle. June ran the device up, over and past the damaged area, then did the same for the other crimps.

"Now all we have to do is apply the artimesh and we're done. Ratchet?" The bot handed her a sharp cutting device and a roll of the grey mesh that served as a bandage for the Cybertronians. June unrolled the artimesh and carefully cut out three pieces to fit the damaged plates. She took her time affixing the bandaged and smoothed each one down. The dark grey plates seemed to absorb the artimesh on contact. June smiled in triumph as the slow energon seepage stopped and the yellow scout let out a happy chirp.

"Now, avoid any strenuous activity and don't transform for the next eight hours and you should be fine." The nurse said Bumblebee. The scout leaned over and wrapped his arms gently around the woman. June tensed, and then relaxed into the hug. Clearly the Cybertronian had been learning more than video games from his human companion. Bumblebee stood up and walked out of the lab. Ratchet began putting away the instruments.

"Very good work Nurse Darby. You will develop more speed with practice but over all I don't think I could have done better myself."

June let out a nervous laugh and leaned against the exam table for support. Here she was, June Darby R.N., treating aliens from outer space. It was amazing and unbelievable. The medibot looked at her and a compassionate smile turned up the corners of his mouth. It had been ages ago, but he still remembered the excitement and fear of his first days as a healer. He finished putting away the instruments and gently scooped up the human in one hand.

"Come June, let's discus the procedure over a nice cup of tea."

June looked into his blue optics and smiled.

"That would nice."


	2. Berthside Manner

Berthside Manner

A Transformers Prime FanFiction

"Okay Jack let's try this again," Arcee called out.

The blue Autobot strode exactly twenty paces to the west, shuttered her optics, and offlined her sensors. Several hundred meters away in a dry gully Jack lightly ran his fingers over the screen of a bulky handheld device. The surface lit up in response and began broadcasting a very specific signal. The human tossed the device into his backpack and shouldered a long coil of rope. He trotted up to the edge of a steep slope and began to scramble down.

He hit the bottom of the slope and scampered under a shallow ledge. He leaned against the sandstone and glanced at his watch.

"Five seconds, four, three, two, and go!" the lanky boy whispered into the night air.

On the desert flat above the blue Cybertronian's optics suddenly brightened. She scanned the area around her until she detected the signal the device was giving off. Arcee set off in the directions indicated by her sensors.

Below the seconds ticked slowly by as Jack waited for his partner to locate him. He shifted a little and rubbed his hands together. The clear desert air swirled around his feet and drew his warmth away into the night. Time seemed to stretch out. The human finally sat down on a boulder and pulled a book out of his back pack. The signal device gave off just enough light to read by. He had finished four chapters when his phone rang.

"Hey," he answered.

"Return to the starting point Jack," Arcee's voice sounded clipped and frustrated.

"Sure thing," Jack put the book and the signal device back in his bag and started up the slope.

"So, still not working right," he said as he came up to Arcee.

She was an impressive sight standing there in the moonlight. For being entirely made of metal her skin reflected very little of the full moon's glow. She'd explained to him once that the lack of reflection made her a more difficult target in battle. Here it gave her the appearance of some guardian spirit of the Paiute tribes that had long ago left their mark on the canyon walls. Two cerulean optics burning in the face of a form that blended into the desert stone.

"No, there's no avoiding it now," she growled. "The problem must be in my core programming interface. I'll have to go back and have Ratchet realign the entire matrix for this new tracking program."

"What exactly is the problem with that?" Jack asked as he loaded the gear back into her saddle bags and strapped on his helmet. "You told me yourself that he's the best medic you've ever known."

"And how much do you like going to the dentist?" Arcee asked archly.

"Touché," Jack said with a grin.

"What?"

"It means you scored a point," the human explained, "a phrase from the martial sport of fencing."

"Ah, I see. Arcee to base we need a ground bridge."

The green portal opened several yards away.

"You know you could always ask my mom to do it instead," Jack offered with a grin.

Arcee stopped dead and frowned down at him.

"Hey, I was just joking," he said quickly, feeling that sinking in his stomach he got whenever he offended someone he cared about. "You know, because she patched up Bee, but brain, I mean CPU, work is probably way different."

"Let June do it," the Cybertronian murmured thoughtfully as if she hadn't heard him.

"Are you coming back or not?" Ratchet's voice snapped over the comm. "We're burning energon here."

Jack saw Arcee flinch at the tone. Her faceplates grew thoughtful as they continued towards the portal.

"Let me get this straight. Arcee wants me to perform _brain surgery_ on her?" June Darby stared up at the red and white Autobot certain she'd misheard.

"Her CPU; and it is hardly as complicated as you make it sound," Ratchet pointed out shortly. "You simply need to make sure the matrix readings are aligned properly. This will not be your first experience working with Cybertronian physiology. "

"Patching a mesh wound is one thing," the nurse said shaking her head. "This is orders of magnitude more complex."

"You are more than capable of handling it Nurse Darby," the mech dropped the human sized med scanned he'd made for her on the table beside the woman. "You need experience with something other than battle damage and accidents of irresponsible youth. Now chop-chop, Arcee has put this off far too long in any case."

Ratchet turned back to the consol; not dismissively, but as she had seen the doctors of her hospital do so many times. He was gladly handing over a heavy responsibility to a competent nurse.

The woman hefted the scanner and strode over to where Arcee and Jack were sitting. The boy was perched on the Cybertronian's leg leaning back against her chestplates absorbed in a thick book. June smiled at the picture they made. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Arcee," she called out. "Ready for your realignment?"

The blue fembot glanced up and smiled eagerly.

"So did you decide to do it?" she asked the human.

"Well more like the Doctor decided I'd do it," June replied ruefully holding up the scanner.

Arcee shot a knowing look in the direction of the brusque medibot, and smiled down at the woman.

"Look, if you're uncomfortable…" she offered.

"No, I am confident that I can do this so step right this way please," June put on her best comforting smile and led the cyclebot into the lab.

"Thank you for doing this June," Arcee said quietly as she lay down on the med berth. "It's not that I don't trust Ratchet completely, it's just that this procedure is a little," the Autobot hesitated as she searched the English language for an appropriate word. "Personal," the cyclebot finally decided on.

"Ah, should I leave then?" Jack asked a little nervously.

"Only if you want to Jack," the Autobot replied. "But I'd kind of like to have you here."

The young man nodded and perched on a counter out of his mother's way.

"I'm glad to think that you would trust me for such a personal procedure,"' the woman said soothingly. "All right let's get started. Please enter dormancy phase beta and disengage your dorsal cranial armor plates."

The nurse held her breath and mentally reviewed what she'd told Arcee. It all clicked with the protocols Ratchet had been teaching her. The Cybertronian suddenly lay very still. The constant inner hum quieted as various mechanisms went dormant. Seven small plates just above and behind her left audio receptor pulled up and out revealing an intricate mesh work of wires and pathways. A web of glowing blue surrounded a rainbow of flickering lights.

"Beautiful," June whispered as she stared at the complex network underneath the outer armor. When she caught a glimpse of their inner workings like this there was no doubt in the woman's mind that the Autobots were living beings.

She shook herself and refocused on the task at hand. The nurse carefully ran the device over the exposed area, double checking each frequency.

"Well, it looks like you are a perfectly healthy Cybertronian," she quipped lightly to her patient. "There's just that odd variance in the synchronization of the new programming and the old. Now I'm going to attach the transcircuitry stimulator."

Carefully, step by step the human explained what she was doing to her patient. It was as much to calm her own nerves and focus her mind as it was to keep Arcee informed. As she grew more comfortable with the procedure June began interspacing the strictly clinical observations with more personal comments, just as she did in the emergency ward, soothing and comforting the patient.

"There we go. It looks like a simple energon flux issue as predicted. I'm deadening the pain circuits to the area now," Nurse Darby gently touched the neural deactivator to the area and watched as the light pattern subtly shifted. A glance at the scanner told her that the area was completely numb, though Ratchet had warned her that with this kind of procedure some discomfort was unavoidable.

Sure enough when she attached the phase synchronizer there was a subtle shift in the Autobot's faceplates. Arcee's optics brightened briefly and the delicate gears around them seemed to tense. June kept up the soothing talk but felt her heart lurch at the sight.

Jack watched the procedure closely. His attention torn between sympathy for his partner and unabashed pride in his mother. She looked so calm and collected. 'Yeah and what does your mom do?' 'Oh, just helps heal the two story tall alien warriors that are currently protecting our planet.' Jack smiled at the imagined conversation. Maybe one day he'd get to have it.

"Jack," his mother's tone of voice brought the young man immediately alert. It was that perfectly calm obey or die tone that every child recognizes. "I need the plate separator."

Jack glanced around the lab frantically.

"It's by your left hand," she pointed out.

The young man leapt to hand her the device. He watched in fascination as she carefully closed the seven plate juncture.

"All right Arcee," she called out. "That's a wrap. Initiate reactivation sequences."

With a sound like a metal sigh the Autobot stiffened and then relaxed. She swung her legs down over the side of the berth and stood up.

"So, how do you feel?" June asked.

"And how did your apprentice do this time?"

Ratchet jumped slightly at the deep voice sounding behind him and wondered, not for the first time how a mech Optimus's size moved so quietly.

"She preformed perfectly as expected," the medic huffed. "As if there was ever any doubt."

The leader of the Autobots smiled at his old friend's back. From the monitors it was clear that the red and white mech had been minutely monitoring every step of the procedure.

"I am pleased to hear that," Optimus said sincerely.

Ratchet stiffened at a subtle tone in the Prime's voice. He turned to face his leader with a scowl.

"But…?" he prompted.

Optimus looked at him searchingly and the gruff old bot shifted awkwardly on his peds.

"Ratchet, I have no doubt that if you say Nurse Darby is competent to perform the procedure she is. But you have no other duties at the moment and this is a fairly complex operation. I am curious as to why you are not observing from the lab itself, instead of covertly from here."

The medibot leaned back against the consol and rubbed his optics ridge tiredly.

"Optimus, it is no secret that my berth-side manner could stand improvement," he began. "I can patch up almost any injury that comes in off the battle field. But even before the war I always tried to turn things like this over to more, let's say more pleasant tempered colleges," the medic said.

"Things like this?" the Prime inquired.

"This procedure, while simple to effect, has a serious drawback," Ratchet explained. "The subject must be kept completely immobile and yet entirely aware during the realignment."

The red and blue mech nodded his understanding.

"You can imagine why Arcee has been putting this off for as long as possible; trying to repair the misalignment internally. Having, even a trusted, medic poking around in you CPU subsystems while in forced stasis lock is unnerving to say the least. Well, in this case the small unintimidating size of Nurse Darby is a distinct asset, as is her naturally pleasant temperament and well developed berth-side manner. In addition Arcee is deliberately attempting to befriend her since the polarity gauntlet incident."

Optimus smiled as his old friend finally ended his speech.

"I see, so for Arcee's sake you abstained from hovering over Nurse Darby."

"Yes, and as I knew she would the human performed admirably," Ratchet said reaching down to pick up a tiny tray holding a variety of human dishes. He selected a metal container full of a light green liquid and carefully placed it between two open panels on his forearm.

"Ratchet?" Optimus observed the strange proceedings with raised brows.

"Oh, tea for Nurse Darby," the medibot said dismissively. "It calms her nerves after a stressful procedure. Also humans seem to share the Cybertronian proclivity for discussing work over a drink. This is the most efficient way to heat it to the desired temperature." Ratchet indicated the teapot clamped firmly against a secondary energon line.

Optimus watched the medic stride out to meet the nurse. She and her son were headed for the human's living area. The woman walked eagerly up the stairs and sat down at a table while Jack gathered up his backpack. Ratchet carefully set the dink and its accoutrements on the surface and waited for Mrs. Darby to serve herself. Once she had settled in the medic struck up an animated discussion. Jack leaned in to claim one of the edibles on the tray.

Looking at the scene from across the silo some old memory stirred in the Prime's circuits; a faint whiff of altered lubricants and spilled energon. Macadam's Old Oil House, he realized. Something about the two humans interacting with the Cybertronian reminded of the old dive in Iacon, and a pair of organics he'd kept as pets for a short time. Arcee strode over and claimed Jack to run yet another test of the offending tracking system. Bulkhead roared into the silo with Miko's music blasting out of his speakers. The computer signaled his comm. with a message from Fowler. Optimus turned to the task at hand and the faint but pleasant memory faded back into the recesses of time.


	3. Our Little Secret

Our Little Secret

A Transformers Prime Fanfiction

"We really have got to stop meeting like this," June Darby smiled up into guilty blue optics as she stepped out of her car.

The dusty old warehouse that Fowler had designated for the kids and Autobots play area when not at the base glowed with soft afternoon sunlight. A yellow and black form sat on an old crate, servos drumming lightly on the wood at his sides. A low embarrassed whistle came from the voice box and the Nurse laughed heartily as she pulled out her black bag.

"Bumblebee, I love doing this. It's no trouble at all. Now is there anything new at all?"

The scout shook his head and gave a tired vent. The woman smiled sympathetically and patted the warm metal thigh.

"On a scale of one to ten, with one being a mesh bruise and ten being listing to Miko's music all day how bad is the discomfort?"

June's quip was rewarded with a brilliant smile that lit up the expressive silver faceplates. Black and yellow doorwings flickered in amusement as the scout held up four digits. The mother cocked her head to one side and glared suspiciously up at the young mech. He managed to hold her gaze for a moment then glanced guiltily away before letting the fifth digit join the others.

"I thought so," the nurse declared. "Now are you sure you don't want Ratchet to-"

Bumblebee buzzed firmly shaking his head and lowering his doorwings aggressively.

"Very well let's get started."

Carefully, the woman pulled on specially made gloves and goggles. June produced a foot long probe out of her bag and activated it. The Cybertronian turned his helm away and grimaced. The device hummed to a start and she pressed the softly glowing end carefully along a pattern of seams in the Autobot's side. The effect on the scout was nearly instantaneous. His wings drooped in relaxation and the tightness in his faceplates eased for a moment. Then the wings perked back up and he looked down to watch what the human was doing.

A series of small panels had folded back giving the nurse access to his internals. Bumblebee chirped in interest and reached a black servo to poke at the exposed gears only to have his inquisitive digit slapped away by the human.

"Don't disturb me Bumblebee. This is delicate work," June admonished.

The young scout let out a vent and tried his best not to slump or squirm. It had been weeks since Ratchet had repaired his T-cog and the work the medic had done was nothing short of miraculous, but the delicate organ had been badly damaged, and with the stress of combat his overworked nanite repair system could only do so much so fast. The incredibly complex set of gears was under constant stress; every time the Autobot transformed delicate mechanisms were stressed and warped out of shape. Under normal circumstances the inherent tensile strength of the living alloys coupled with the healing capabilities of the colonies of living nano-machines that swarmed over his frame would repair the day to day stressors. Over the eons that they had wandered the stars however, away from the natural micro ecosystems of their home world, his internal colonies had been ravaged by radiation, infection, and poor quality energon. The damage done by M.E.C.H. had stolen some of the strength from his youthful frame, already weakened at the servos of Megatron. The organ would heal more as time went on but it would never be quite as strong as it had been and until it healed it needed constant maintenance. Today that meant making certain the distance between the long gear teeth extending from the top and bottom of the ovoid device was precise down to the nanometer.

"I'm beginning the realignment process now," June smiled up at him.

*You look pretty with those safety goggles on,* Bumblebee chirped admiringly down at the human femme.

She patted his thigh in response and returned to her ministrations. Her little hands were so very warm and gentle. They soothed the discomfort as she took the special alignment tool Ratchet had made for her to use. Sometimes he thought that all she would really need to do though was run her fingers over the gears to ease the pain.

Once when Jack had been sick with one of the many viruses that teamed through the planet's atmosphere Bumblebee had had a chance to watch her tend to her son. Somewhat to the scout's surprise it had been made clear to him that the nurse lavished as much care and tenderness on him as she had on her biological son. At one point Jack had been in the grip of a fever dream and June had sat down, placing his head in her lap. The mother had sat there with the raven haired youth until the episode had passed. When Jack had come to his senses he had gazed up at June with a look of such love and appreciation in his blue-grey optics it had filled Bumblebee with an indefinable longing. Now he relished the time spent with the woman who had a way of making him feel as if at least some part of that love was for him as well.

"Half done," she murmured as he felt a small twinge of discomfort.

Bumblebee truly wished he could explain the truth to her, why he met her in this distant place instead of having Ratchet perform the simple procedure, but it was not something he wanted to burden his young human friend with translating. Partly it was the simple fact that the nurse had a far better bedside manner. He felt welcome and loved when she smiled up at him, not to mention she was far less intimidating to the small scout. The young Cybertronian lifted his optics and stared off into the middle distance.

When Ratchet had finished the surgery the scout's body had been half numb from offlined pain receptors and half trembling in pain. What had hurt worst though had been the guilt and suffering he had seen in the medic's optics. So the youngest of the mechs had forced the transformation despite the pain. He had rushed Rafael out of the base and sat trembling outside the boy's house the entire night rather than let the medic see his suffering. For the battle hardened mech the pain had been easily bearable but he did not wish to share it with Raf. He would protect the innocence that lived in the boy's brown eyes, the same innocence that had been so cruelly ripped from him. But what he had lived through paled in comparison to the burden of guilt and pain that Ratchet carried. No matter what minor mistakes Mrs. Darby might make they were leagues easier to bear than seeing the guilt in the medics blue optics.

"All done!" June called out lightly.

Bumblebee glanced down in surprise and chirped in satisfaction as he felt the plates slide smoothly shut.

"And what is your discomfort level now?"

*Better than I've felt in weeks,* he trilled holding up one finger.

"Good, well I need to get to a friend's house," June said with a smile.

Bumblebee reached eagerly out for the woman and she held up her arms to be swept into a hug. For a moment he simply held the human over his spark and let the feeling of the double beat of her heart fill his awareness. Finally he reluctantly set her down and watched as she climbed in her car. The scout glared at the red sedan fighting down a little bundle of jealously. With an exvent he transformed and headed for Raf's house.

June turned out onto the highway and smiled as she approached her destination. The silo doors opened and she pulled into the quiet base.

"And how went the exam Nurse?" Ratchet asked without looking up from his station.

"He is healing faster than we expected," she replied with a smile.

"Nurse Darby," Ratchet turned to her and there was gratitude in his optics mingled with something else, relief perhaps, "I just want to thank you again for doing this. I-" the medic cut off and drew in a deep vent of air.

"You're welcome Ratchet," she smiled patting the mesh on his ped. "Just one question, does Bee know you know about this?"

"I don't think that matters," the medic shrugged his shoulder guards and smiled, "not so long as he is healing."

"Our little secret," June said returning the smile.


	4. Squish

**Practicum Cybertronium 4**

**Squish!**

**A Transformers Prime Fanfiction**

"_They have no protective shell," the medic whispered the obvious fact to the Prime fighting back his exasperation and growing resignation. "If they get underfoot they will go…" he searched the language banks of their cursedly confusing language for an appropriate word to describe the collections of water and organic material compressing, "squish!" _

_To emphasize his point he lightly brought the rear stabilizers of his ped down on the concrete. Immediately he mentally kicked himself for his carelessness as the three immature humans flinched back; obvious fear on their fleshy faces. Medic protocols flared up and burned across his processor nipping at his spark with guilt; recognizing the organics for the sparklings they were and forcing him to grant them all the protection and care that entailed, further souring his mood. _

"Watch our step indeed," Ratchet muttered to himself as those same ancient protocols proceeded to drag up the memory files and replay them again and again as he reached over and absently and set the tool he was using beside a few others on the walkway.

Inside the silo the same lighting reflected off of his red and white armor that had from the moment the human authorities had granted them this base. Outside the dark cycle had descended on the arid environment. No moon shone down and the darkest hours of the night had claimed the area. While he was not at the mercy of the planet's rotational cycle thanks to the primitive lighting of the base, the healers' codes dedicated to problem solving seemed to always choose the deeper quiet of the small hours to activate.

It was an old and very practical set of codes that all medics had. The intended purpose was to regulate problem solving and diagnosis activates so a mech could focus on more than one issue at a time without it overwhelming his processing capacity. When the Autobot had been in charge of the health and wellbeing of legions of fighting mechs it had been a Primus sent blessing that kept him from going mad. Now that he had a mere handful for warriors and their allies to worry about those same codes became over active; choosing some error in judgment he had made, some insolvable problem the circumstances left him in and wringing it through his processor over and over again. Frightening the children that first day was a new favorite for them and right now they were battering the medic with what his impulsive error in judgment had caused.

He had not meant to frighten or threaten the little organics. The Cybertronian had merely miscalculated, underestimated, the abilities of their senses. They had clearly heard his whispered protest and had gleaned the meaning of the gentle, to him, tap he had given the cold concrete. The fear he had seen in their eyes had been an immediate reproach to him despite logic that whispered that they should be afraid. This was far too dangerous a situation for them. Even then, moments after meeting them, he could feel the healer's coding whispering to his processor; the medic programming working to carve out a place in his spark for the new charges. He had fought it, had not wanted to accept this burden, but now…

Ratchet gave a soft groan of annoyance as his low sweep sensors flared up. Miko's high laughter floated up to his audio receptors slightly soothing the irritation with a warm glow of approval at the sign of good health and high spirits. He shot the female an annoyed glance and snapped out the usual warning. As expected she acknowledged the reprimand flippantly and darted off. Slightly heavier footsteps came around the corner and the medic gave a soft vent of relief as Jack carefully circled around him, clearing the sensors' range. The new programming had integrated well thankfully, with no side effects.

The medic returned to the diagnosis he was running on the computer systems and called out to Rafael. The boy answered in the affirmative and Ratchet adjusted the program accordingly. There was a human he didn't mind having around; much. He knew his place and kept to it, staying to the raised areas where there was no danger getting underfoot of the larger Cybertronians. Jack was always courteous, respecting the safety zone around their peds, but he had a warriors pride and insisted on walking everywhere; refusing any offers to be carried. A service eagerly granted by the war worn and lonely Cybertronians. Worse, the oldest of their charges felt the need to be constantly useful. With the raven haired youth's set of skills that involved moving around on the concrete floor and getting into annoying places. He could not always avoid triggering the safeties but he always tried. Miko; Ratchet shook his helm, when she remembered she would sometimes try to avoid the live area. Rafael called out another adjustment and the medic responded.

"Miko put that down!"

Jack's voice was laced with resignation not terror so Ratchet kept his optics firmly fixed on the screen.

"Make me Biker Boy!"

Ratchet resolutely tuned out the voices and gritted his dentia as he prepared for the girl to dart by his legs again but the sound of footsteps went the other way as Jack herded her away from the busy mech. Red and white shoulder guards slumped in relief. The mech began tracking a misaligned data stream when Raf called out another correction to the system. Ratchet reached over for the necessary tool but the tracking program he was using threw off his spatial recognition and he staggered as his servos swiped empty air then knocked a rolling chair flying. With a silent curse his other hand snapped out to catch the object throwing him further off balance, internal balance sensors already slightly off causing him to spin around clumsily bringing one ped high as a counterweight.

He heard Rafael's scream of terror at the same time the warning sensors on the sole of his ped began to burn like plasma fire. Part of his processor demanded to know how Miko had gotten back underfoot so quickly and why she was not moving from underneath him. Another section prayed frantically that the new programming was simply malfunctioning. The fresh protocols were working perfectly; tightening cables, stretching pistons, straining his systems to the breaking point to counter the downward movement of his errant ped but he knew it would not be enough and unspeakable dread filled his spark. Miko; Bulkhead's precious charge, was going to die under his ped due to his own carelessness. The flaming sensors in his base plate flickered slightly just before he made contact and as he had feared from the beginning the horrific sensation of human flesh under Cybertronian metal went squish.

All this took micro-klicks to pass through his processor. Then time seemed to freeze and he was unable to look down as Jack's cry of agony filled the silo from below. Old habits and ancient training forced the medic to lower his gaze only to have his processor seize up in confusion and then relief at the sight of the slim Asian on her aft on the concrete staring in mixed shock and annoyance at his peds. Ratchet regained his sense of glanced sharply at his screaming ped and gave a cry that was half relief and half fear the last minute flickering explained. He lifted up his leg with exquisite care and immediately knelt to examine Miko's damaged leg.

"Jack call Nurse Darby!" he ordered harshly relief flooding through him as the results of the scans hit his processor. "I am going to move her to the medical bay."

The medic forced an immediate shut down of all his subsystems that were devoted to analyzing the malfunctioning computer systems and diverted that processor capability to the injured girl. Rafael he could trust to shut the programs down safely. Ratchet scooped up the pink haired youth with utmost care and strode for the medbay. The rest of his mental ability was analyzing his sensor readings of what had happened. Miko had frozen under his ped for a fraction of a second before leaping to the side. The movement had protected her head and vital organs but left one delicate limb in the path of the falling ped. Already she had lost precious fluids from the injured flesh. The leaks would need to be mended but that was beyond his ability. For now he could only apply pressure to prevent the seeping from getting out of hand.

Ratchet laid his patient on the hospital bed and began administering what remedies he felt he could until Nurse Darby arrived. Mostly that involved pain killers and treating the internal and external bleeding to the best of his ability. By the time he had finished the woman had arrived. After a cursory examination she stated that she need treatment at a human hospital. Ratchet transformed and they quickly loaded the now unconscious girl into his carrying compartment. The groundbridge to the hospital was tense. With June watching over her patient and Ratchet afraid to say anything to the woman to earn her well deserved wrath. He dropped them off and more slowly retreated to base.

The sensation of his ped coming down on the human filled his awareness as he drove the dusty road back to Omega One. He needed time to process this alone without the presence of Bulkhead adding any more to his guilt. The silent desert soothed him somewhat and by the time he reached the base he had composed himself enough to prepare his report for Optimus. He dreaded facing the Prime when he returned from patrol.

_I warned him! _A small voice screamed inside his processor. _I warned him this would happen. If he had just listened to me in the first place none of this would had happened. _The medic buried the selfish recriminations and rolled through the silo doors. He braced himself for what his sensors and experience told him to expect and gave a resigned sigh as both were proven right.

"Where is Miko?" a roaring wall of green mech rushed up to meet him.

Ratchet transformed only to be pinned roughly to the wall. The force of the blow was almost enough to distract him from the dull burning flickering up his ped and leg.

"What the pit did you do to my girl?" the enraged wrecker shouted his voice filling the cavern.

"Miko is stable," the older Autobot tried to interject.

"Stable?" Bulkhead's pitch rose to an insanely high pitch. "Stable means scrap! I was stable flat on my back and nearly offlined from that pit fragging inscecticon! You. Hurt. My. Miko!"

The last burst of words was outrage and agony, pain and fire, accusation and plea. Ratchet's spark twisted painfully in his chassis as the fierce blue optics burned into him.

"Yes. I did," he meant it to be a confession but the words came out harsh and clipped and he regretted them the moment they passed his dentia.

Rage flared anew in the wrecker's optics and the thick servos tightened around the medic's shoulder armor.

"You pit slagging piece of scrapplet waste! You knew this would happen! You are glad she's gone! You never liked my Miko. Always complaining about her mussing and getting under ped. You wanted this to happen!-"

The ex-wrecker roared on and Ratchet was dimly aware that Jack had run up and tried to get their attention, had said something to soothe the green warrior but Bulkhead was far past listening to the raven haired youth and the human soon darted away. The soldier didn't cease his tirade as the groundbridge opened and a red and blue semi drove through and transformed.

"Bulkhead stand down," the words were spoken softly but there was a tone of command in the deep voice that stopped the green warrior mid word.

The ex-wrecker stood there staring between the Prime and the medic for several moments venting heavily to cool his overheated systems. Optimus tilted his helm to the side and narrowed his optics. Bulkhead took the hint and released the pinned Ratchet with a snarl stepping back and glaring at the floor.

"I think it would be best if you were to wait at the medical facility for news of Miko's condition," Optimus stated. "Nurse Darby has informed me that she is resting comfortably in a room with a window that looks out on the parking lot of the facility."

The Prime supplemented the half-order half-suggestion with a set of coordinates and Bulkhead eagerly roared out of the silo in a cloud of smoke and burning rubber. Ratchet slumped in release for a moment but forced himself to face his oldest friend.

"He was not wrong Optimus," the medic stated dully, "he was not wrong."

The leader of the Autobots inclined his helm towards the medical bay and led the emotionally exhausted healer out of the main silo.

"Report Ratchet," the Prime ordered firmly.

The red and white Autobot stiffened and gritted his dentia. _I warned you_! screamed in his processor. A cooler more logical segment of his inner voice recognized the accusation for what it was; a desperate attempt to distract from his own burning guilt and remorse. Forcing both aside he gave a detailed summary of what had occurred. The larger Cybertronian listened patiently but his optics seemed drawn down to the ped that was still burning with the feel of Miko's leg. That attention distracted the medic; eventually causing him to stutter to a stop. He stood there waiting for his commander's response; for the reprimand he had justly earned and the look of disappointment in those cerulean optics he dreaded. To the medic's shock however the red and blue Autobot only knelt and gently tapped at his burning ped; a request.

Ratchet leaned back against the medical berth and allowed the Prime to lift the extremity. Optimus gently ran his servos over the heated mesh, teaking the excited electromagnetic field with an expertise that almost rivaled the healer's. He carefully articulated the joints and then released the ped.

"How are you holding up old friend?" the Prime asked resting a hand on the broad shoulder guard.

"What? Ah, ah, ah," Ratchet gasped in bewilderment at the gentle gaze then threw off the arm and surged back to his peds. "I am not the one in need of medical attention Oprimus! Miko is lying in a hospital at the mercy of the humans' primitive medical science because of me!"

The Prime's optics hardened and he firmly forced the medic back into a sitting position.

"Indeed," his deep voice filled the base, seeming to resonate off the walls. "She is in a hospital because of you."

Ratchet shuddered and dropped his helm into his servos. He knew the accusation was true but it somehow made it worse to hear it from his Prime and oldest friend. It was several klicks before he realized that Optimus had continued speaking.

"It is because of the sensors you added to our peds and servos that we are able to detect the presence of our human allies so readily. It is because of the fine tuning you preformed on all of our motor functions that gives us the strength to act on those readings. It is because of the programs you wrote and implemented in our coding that we are able to use that strength in response to the readings."

The Prime paused and pressed a glyph for attention against the medic. Ratchet slowly lifted his helm and looked at Optimus with dull optics.

"I have seen your scans of her injury old friend. The main frame struts were cracked not shattered, none of the articulating fibers were torn, and the soft tissue damage will heal even before the bone. I knew from the first that this manner of accident was a possibility and chose to keep the children here under our protection. It was the precautions you set in place that have been successful in keeping them safe despite the size difference. The sub-routines shifted the main force of your weight away from Miko and slowed your decent enough to give her time to react." The leader of the Autobots paused and flared his field commandingly, drawing the healer's full attention to him.

"It is because of you; what you did, the precautions that you took, that Miko is recuperating in the hospital and not damaged beyond repair."

Ratchet dropped his helm once more and Optimus barely heard his whispered response.

"But I could have done better."

Optimus gave a sad exvent and let his field fall back to normal energy levels.

"Your protocols worked old friend but at some damage to yourself. Your cables and internal servos are stressed and there is sensory overload in mesh that contacted with Miko. You are to stay off your peds until your nanobots are able to repair the stress micro-fractures."

"Very well Optimus," the medic replied dully as he lay back on the berth staring up at the rock ceiling.

O

O

A week later the base was suddenly filled with the sound of children's' laughter and transformation. Ratchet shifted nervously from ped to ped where he waited for the initial commotion to die down. True to her word June had Jack push the wheelchair bound Miko straight to the med bay for scans despite her loud protests. Bulkhead hovered over her not wanting to let the girl out of his sight. The ex-wrecker had cooled down rapidly and one talk with the Prime had had the green mech apologizing profusely to the medic. Jack and June went out to set up the girl's welcome home party, taking Bulkhead along for assistance and leaving the medic alone with the girl. A short battery of tests later the girl was demanding to be released to the human's area for a videogame marathon. The medic was about to relent when something caught his optic.

"What is this?" he asked with a frown examining a cluster of markings on the silicon fiber that held her healing limb immobile.

"That's where Jack and Raf signed my cast."

"And this is some human tradition?"

"Yup, all your friends sign your cast to let you know you are important to them," the girl hesitated. "At least that's what Jack tells me," she said a bit softer.

Ratchet winced recalling her less than traditional upbringing, but she shook the mood off and continued eagerly.

"And Bulk is going to do it too now that we're back at base, and Bee and Arcee too! It is going to be so cool to have real alien writing on my leg. Everyone will be mega jealous! Hey, you can sign my leg too."

"I hardly think that's wise," the medic mused as he stared thought fully down the injured limb old memories suddenly surfacing from before the war. "Any markings on the exterior of your cast will be visible to a stray camera shot and if our name sigils were to appear online-"

"It would compromise our safety," Miko groaned. "Party pooper!"

"But perhaps there is something else I could do instead."

Miko blinked up at the medic more than a little bewildered. His helm was tilted to one side and a spark of mischief flickered in his blue optics. He leaned a bit closer a conspiratorial grin pulling at his faceplates.

"I have an idea but it might be best if you did not tell June or Optimus."

"I'm listening," the slim Asian said intrigued and more than a bit shocked.

Ratchet pulled out a long thin probe.

"This will produce a high energy sonic wave and transfer the vibrations to the surface of your bone. Given the tendency of human osteocytes to respond to such stimuli-"

For once the girl listened attentively to every word.

O

O

"Come on Doc Bot! Let me see! Let me see!"

"Patience Miko, it takes time to calibrate the scanners," the medic scolded her but the effect was ruined by the smile that kept creping over his faceplates.

The girl squirmed once more but forced herself to lie still as Ratchet preformed the scan. Once he signaled it was done she leapt to the display screen. Nine weeks had left her with no discernible limp and only minor muscle atrophy in her young body. Bright honey colored eyes watched eagerly as the image resolved. A precise three dimensional representation of her fractured tibia and fibula glowed a faint green. Spider-webbing across them was the network of lines where the damaged had healed even stronger than before. Wrapped around the larger tibia a compact ring of Cybertronian glyphs stood out in an extra dense layer of healed bone cells.

"So that's your name right?"

"Correct; my designation, ranks, and level of medical training."

"This is so scrapping cool! Way better than a tat!" the girl squealed.

"I am glad you appreciate it," the medic stated smugly. "Actually, before the war, tagging their work was quite common among the skilled classes of Cybertronian healers-"

"Great! Thanks Doc Bot!" the girl called out as she darted out to the main silo pink phone in hand, a picture of the image stored on the memory card.

"Now remember Miko!" Ratchet called out with a conspiratorial smirk.

She paused at the door and winked back at him.

"Our little secret!"

He chuckled as he watched her bound out of the room almost no trace left of the injury. The old medic returned to organizing his space as Optimus came in.

"How did the final exam go?" he asked.

"Exactly according to expectations. She is healing well."

"And she was appreciative of your addition to the healing process?"

"Ah, ah, ah," the medic spun on the Prime and shook a servo at him. "Now remember Optimus. You don't know about that and neither does June."

"Indeed," a rare smile threatened to spill out of his cerulean optics.

"But yes she was," Ratchet continued with a wide grin. "I doubt she will be able to maintain the secret from the others for long so do remember to be properly surprised and irritated with me when she lets it slip."

"As you wish, my friend," the Prime said with a smile. "As you wish."


End file.
